aylworth



(No Model.)

. G. H. AYLWORTH GATE.

N0. 384,552. Patented June 12, 1888.

N4 PETERS Phmoliihognpher. Walhingium D, C-

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

GEORGE H. AYLWVORTH, OF BRIGHTON, ILLINOIS.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 384,552, dated June 12,1888.

I Application filed March 30, 1888. Serial No. 268,970. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. AYLWORTH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Brighton, in the county of Macoupin and State of lllinois,have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Gates; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichitappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates more especially to the means for opening andclosing swinging gates, and has for its object to enable such gates tobe easily and conveniently opened and closed by persons on horseback orin vehicles without the trouble of disinounting.

To this end the invention consists, essentially, of a lever for openingand closing the gate, fulcrumed, as hereinafter described, and a cord,rope, or chain attached to the latch and so disposed with relation tothe lever that a pull upon the cord will first raise the latch tounlatch the gate when closed, and will then turn the lever to swing thegate.

In the accompanying drawings,which illustrate my invention and form apart of this specification, Figure 1 represents a side elevation, andFig. 2 a plan view, of a gate with my invention applied thereto. Fig. 3represents a modification in the manner of attaching theoperating-lever, and Fig.4 is a face view of the catch.

A designates the gate,which is hinged to the post 0 so as to swing ineither direction. D is a base-timber, upon which the post 0 is set, andE is a brace or stay between the basetimber and post, the parts 0 D Eforming a portable frame, which is adapted to be set up at any desirablepoint and secured in place by staking to the ground.

0 designates a lever, which is fulcrumed on the top of post 0, and isconnected at its forward end with a vertical stud or pin, a, which isattached to and projects above the top bar of the gate. The other end ofthe lever projects back far enough beyond the post to give the necessaryleverage for opening and clos ing the gate.

b designates a cord, rope, or chain, one end of which is attached to thelatch a, passing thence over a guide pin or pulley, a, at the top of thegate and back through a suitable guide or keeper at the free end of thelever 0. Before it reaches the said guide or keeper the cord 1) isdivided into two strands or branches, 1) b", which, after passingthrough the guide or keeper, are led off in opposite directions throughguides at d on posts or supports 0 C the latter standing on oppositesides of the posts 0, and at a distance therefrom equal at least to thelength of the projecting end of the lever 0, so that the latter may bedrawn around far enough to fully open the gate. When set, as indicatedin Fig. 2, other guides should be provided to guide and support thecords b b at points beyond the reach of the gate when open, so that theoperator may stand beyond the end of the same and be out of the way inclosing it.

It is not absolutely necessary that the cords pass through intermediateguides between the lever c and the points at which they are grasped bythe operator, such guides serving merely as supports to prevent sagging.

The operation is as follows: Suppose the person desiring to open thegate to approach from the right-hand side-that upon which the post Cstands. He grasps the cord 1) and pulls upon the same, the first effectof which is to raise the latch at out of its keeper or catch on the postB and unlatch the gate. As soon as the latch is raised to the limit ofits movement, the continued pull upon the cord draws the lever caround,whereby the gate is caused to swing in the opposite direction,asindicated by broken lines in Fig. 2. After passing through, the operatorpulls upon the cord 1), whereby the lever is turned back and the gate isswung back to the closed posit-ion. The fulcrum of the lever c and thehinges of the gate being in different vertical planes, it follows thatas the gate swings in either direction from its closed position, thestud or pin a approaches the fulcrum of the lever 0, and again recedesas the gate closes. In order to compensate for this movement, the leverc is so mounted on the post 0 as to be capable of moving back and forthas the gate is swung to open or close it. For this purpose I provide aplate, 0, which is pivoted on the top of post 0, and has on its upperface two anti-friction wheels or rollers, c 0 a sufficient distanceapart to receive between them the lever 0. These wheels form the fulcraupon which the lever turns when opening or closing the gate, and at thesame time enable the lever to reciprocate freely without wear. A simplerarrangement is shown in Fig. 3, in which the lever c is fulcrumed on apin, 0, projecting from the top of post 0. As represented in Fig. 8, thelever has an elongated opening, 0 which receives the pin 0 and permitsthe necessary movement of the lever.

To insure the latching of the gate when closed, and to prevent itsswinging past the central position, I provide a catch for the latch,constructed, as represented in Fig. 5, with a projection, c, verticallyabove the notch f, into which the latch drops to latch the gate. Whenthe gate is closed from either direction, the latch rides up on thecurved guide-flange g, from which it drops into the notch f, tolatch thegate. The projection cprevents thelatch from passing over the notch andarrests the gate at the proper point to permit the latch to drop intoengagement with the catch. The lower edge of the projection c issharpened, the sides of the notch fare inclined, and the latch issharpened or beveled at both edges, as indicated in broken lines, Fig.5, to enable the latch to drop into the notch and to rise therefrom pastthe projection This prevents such widening of the notch as would permitunnecessary and objectionable move ment of the gate when latched.

If the latch be made heavy enough or be held down by a spring, theinitial pull upon the cord will swing the gate till the latch strikestheside of the notch f. Being then unable to swing farther, the latchwill be raised out of the notch on the farther side of the projection e,and the gate will then be free to swing open.

While I have described only the post 0 as portable, it is to beunderstood that both posts may be either portable or set in the ground,as may be preferred.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new- 1. Thecombinatiomwith a hinged orswinging gate, of a lever fulcrumed on thetop of the post to which the gate is hinged and capable of moving backand forth on its fulcrum, one end of said lever being connected to thetop of the gate forward of the hinges and the other end projecting backbeyond the said post, substantially as shown and described.

2. The combination,with a hinged or swing ing gate, of a lever fulcrumedon the top of the post to which the gate is hinged and capableof movingback and forth on its fulcrum, one end of said lever being connected tothe gate forward of the hinges and the other end projecting back beyondthe post, and a cord attached to the latch and passing thence through aguide or keeper at the free end of the lever,substantially as shown anddescribed.

3. The cornbinatiomwith a hinged or swinging gate, of a plate, 0,pivoted on the top of the post to which the gate is hinged and carryingguide-rollers c 0 and a lever passing between said guide-rollers andconnected at one of its ends to the top of the gate forward of thehinges and the other end projecting back beyond the said post, the saidguiderollcrs forming fulcra for said lever, substantially as shown anddescribed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE H. AYLXVORTH.

Witnesses:

W. H. GooDELL, G. D. AYLWORTH.

